I have a video that I put on my web page. I did not create the video, and I am not familiar with that part of the process.
The video is a .wmv file and the author of the file says the file size is 5 mb. For some reason it seems to load really slow. Takes about 30 seconds. I am not sure if it is my computer that is so slow, or the actual video.
Could someone take a look and tell me their thoughts as to why it's loading so slowly? Any advice as to anything I can do to speed up the loading process?
http://www.sitesbysarah.com/guru/squeeze.htm
Thanks for any advice you can provide...
Sarb
ripcurlksm
06-13-2008, 04:58 PM
if I had to guess, the delay is due to having to download the .WMV file fully before it plays.
What you want is to stream the WMV file.
Try this link
http://www.spartanicus.utvinternet.ie/streaming.htm
Yes streaming is the way to go. Another streaming option is to convert it into a flv format. With no notable loss of quality and will greatly reduce the file size, or you can have stream at a 320 240 or a larger size for the same or less bandwidth and/or file size.
There are some free or shareware converters on the market. That will convert the wmv to flv. You can find them pretty easy by doing a google search.
LL
ripcurlksm
06-16-2008, 02:09 PM
As Lightlord sayd with flash -- Flix by On2 Technologies is great for converting WMV to FLV -- I think 30 bucks. Also if you have flash you can create a .FLV format as well for free.
Flash is def the way to go, but if this video is a just a one-off or you will only have video occasionally or rarely, WMV will do just fine.
Lightlord
06-16-2008, 02:51 PM
Here is a conveter that is freeware. It will convert alot of different formats.
I think I'm having a simular problme. Will that coding work for me.
My video player follows me around or my site. I think it due to it rendering..
my site is an efic site thats on a php platform.. I created a block for the coding.. could you look at my code and see where I might be creating the error or is it as simple as I need to use streaming .. thanks
<object id="MediaPlayer" width=181 height=200 classid="CLSID:22D6f312-B0F6-11D0-94AB-0080C74C7E95" standby="Loading Windows Media Player components…" type="application/x-oleobject" codebase="http://activex.microsoft.com/activex/controls/mplayer/en/nsmp2inf.cab#Version=6,4,7,1112">
<param name="filename" value="http://kreativefuzion.com/valentcentral/forumvideos/almost_.wmv">
<param name="Showcontrols" value="True">
<param name="autoStart" value="False">
I think I'm having a simular problme. Will that coding work for me.
My video player follows me around or my site. I think it due to it rendering..
my site is an efic site thats on a php platform.. I created a block for the coding.. could you look at my code and see where I might be creating the error or is it as simple as I need to use streaming .. thanks
<object id="MediaPlayer" width=181 height=200 classid="CLSID:22D6f312-B0F6-11D0-94AB-0080C74C7E95" standby="Loading Windows Media Player components…" type="application/x-oleobject" codebase="http://activex.microsoft.com/activex/controls/mplayer/en/nsmp2inf.cab#Version=6,4,7,1112">
<param name="filename" value="http://kreativefuzion.com/valentcentral/forumvideos/almost_.wmv">
<param name="Showcontrols" value="True">
<param name="autoStart" value="False">
I'm not sure what you mean by "follow around"? Yes it should work fine.
LL
Eye for Video
06-16-2008, 10:44 PM
Thanks for the comments everyone. Here’s a little more info about your file and the downloading.
The file is currently being progressively downloaded, that is, a portion of the file is downloaded into a buffer and after a set time, the video begins to play while the rest of the video is being downloaded. This can be verified with a fire wall such as Zone Alarm which has indicator lights to show both upload and download activity.
As a test while watching the download activity, the video began to play. The first time I let the activity light finish the download activity, then went to the temp Internet cache, copied the entire file to play and test separately. It was all there. Second test, cleared cache, accessed site again and downloaded video but only until video began to play, then put cable modem on standby, cutting off the connection. Video only played partial video and then stopped.
This verifies that the video is being progressively downloaded. This is the most common and also the most economical method for video delivery over the Internet. Actually streaming the video will not result in any faster delivery because they both will be buffered before beginning to play, but would be much, much more expensive.
With a higher speed Internet connection the download time is acceptable. However, considering the small display size (video is 192 X 144 pixels, plus controls) it is being displayed at a pretty high bitrate. The bitrate is the single biggest factor, after Internet connection speed, in determining how fast a video will download.
This video was originally created at a 431kbps bitrate, for a display of 320 X 240 pixels. This calculates out to 76800 pixels to resolve the video over. Yet a 192 X 144 display uses only 27648 pixels, about 1/3 as many.
Easiest way to increase the download speed without a loss in resolution, cut the bitrate by 2/3 or about 150kbps. This will give you a video of the same quality (at 192 X 144) which will require only 1/3 the bandwidth to download.
Convertion to .flv will require the same process to speed the download plus you will need a player to display it. But I love Flash so go for it if you can.
Custom Flash player with playlist and captions:
http://www.cidigitalmedia.com/video.html
Best wishes,
Eye for Video
www.cidigitalmedia.com
zxfactor
06-16-2008, 11:38 PM
I'm not sure what you mean by "follow around"? Yes it should work fine.
LL
The video player box lost its shape.. it expands it spardic which lead me to believe that is rendering... www.thechamber.kreativefuzion.com test site
Lightlord
06-17-2008, 12:35 AM
The video player box lost its shape.. it expands it spardic which lead me to believe that is rendering... www.thechamber.kreativefuzion.com test site
Just insert this and match the top and bottom </object> on your web page.
You can Tweak the params based on your preferences. I did a semi test without your css. and It didnt chase me all over the screen :)
The video is a decent resolution where you increase the width and height as long as you keep the aspect ratio. It looks like the original is at 640 x 480. or reformat it so it takes less space and bandwidth.
LL
Eye for Video
06-17-2008, 01:23 AM
The video seems to play fine on my machines with IE7, IE6, and Firefox, but I can still tell you what your problem is, the video player dimensions in your HTML are not correct and the video was not “rendered” by the video editing software correctly for the size player you are using.
<object id="MediaPlayer" width=179 height=200….
Now I know this includes some space for controls but the problem starts here.
Standard video is shot in a ratio of 4 wide by 3 tall, while wide screen is 16 wide by 9 tall. Looking at your video I can tell you that your video dimensions are too tall for the width. A standard ratio video displayed at 179 pixels wide should be about 135 pixels high. The displayed video is about 143 pixels high, about 6% or so off, small but noticeable (hey, I’m Eye for Video….what can I say….).
But the major problem is the bitrate and size of the original video. This video was rendered at 640 X 480 pixels at 830kbps. This means 307200 pixels are required to resolve the video at that resolution. Yet the display on the page only requires 179 X 135, or 24165 pixels, or about 8% of the original video. This describes the display size while the bitrate describes how often that space is “refreshed”.
Because this file is so large, it continues to download as you move around the page, seeming to follow you around. Down size the video to 179 X 135 or so at a bitrate of 300 – 400 kbps and the problem will be solved. Viewers will be downloading a fraction of what they are downloading now and there will be little if any distortion.
Good luck,
Eye for Video
www.cidigitalmedia.com
Lightlord
06-17-2008, 02:36 AM
The video seems to play fine on my machines with IE7, IE6, and Firefox, but I can still tell you what your problem is, the video player dimensions in your HTML are not correct and the video was not “rendered” by the video editing software correctly for the size player you are using.
<object id="MediaPlayer" width=179 height=200….
Now I know this includes some space for controls but the problem starts here.
Standard video is shot in a ratio of 4 wide by 3 tall, while wide screen is 16 wide by 9 tall. Looking at your video I can tell you that your video dimensions are too tall for the width. A standard ratio video displayed at 179 pixels wide should be about 135 pixels high. The displayed video is about 143 pixels high, about 6% or so off, small but noticeable (hey, I’m Eye for Video….what can I say….).
But the major problem is the bitrate and size of the original video. This video was rendered at 640 X 480 pixels at 830kbps. This means 307200 pixels are required to resolve the video at that resolution. Yet the display on the page only requires 179 X 135, or 24165 pixels, or about 8% of the original video. This describes the display size while the bitrate describes how often that space is “refreshed”.
Because this file is so large, it continues to download as you move around the page, seeming to follow you around. Down size the video to 179 X 135 or so at a bitrate of 300 – 400 kbps and the problem will be solved. Viewers will be downloading a fraction of what they are downloading now and there will be little if any distortion.
Good luck,
Eye for Video
www.cidigitalmedia.com
There was something else with the code that was acting goofy. I copied his html code and viewed it locally on my machine and ran into the same problem with the viewer jumping all over the place when you started to scroll. Even though no video was loading.
I then wrote the code in the example and loaded the video locally on my machine and didnt have an issue with it jumping around while scrolling. It could still have some issues with trying to load from the server and scrolling like you mentioned. My gut instinct is that it was how the code was interacting with the rest of the page.
Zxfactor: On a different note. I was testing some converter software for wmv and I reformatted the video to 320x240 @198kbs uses 7.19 megs. Resolution is decent, I can send it to you if you like. small enough of an email attachment for most accounts.
LL
Eye for Video
06-17-2008, 11:06 AM
Looks like the main difference between the two sets of code is the source of the video file.
First code example calls the video from an absolute source:
<param name="filename" value="http://kreativefuzion.com/valentcentral/forumvideos/almost_.wmv">
Second code example call video from a location relative to the HTML page:
<PARAM NAME="FileName" VALUE="almost_.wmv">
This will only work on your local machine if you have already downloaded the file and placed it in the same folder as the HTML page.
The reason it has less jumpiness is because the video is being feed to the page directly from your hard drive at a much faster connection than would be used over an Internet connection. In other words it can rebuild the box in a new location much faster than if it was waiting for the video signal over a slower Internet connection.
The second code set would also work if the page and video are deployed from a server, provided they are in the same directory, but the slow “rebuild” time of the video player box would not be improved. The real answer is to do what you’ve done, resize the video for the application. 320 X 240 is a great improvement. The bitrate of 198kbps is probably sufficient because the video is actually being downsized by the player to 179 X 135. To display a 320 X 240 video at that size, the bitrate is actually a little low, 300 – 400kbps would give a pretty good resolution.
Remember to set the correct path for the HTML page on the server or this second code set will not find the video file on IE.
Thanks for your help on this one,
Eye for Video
www.cidigitalmedia.com
Lightlord
06-17-2008, 11:58 AM
Looks like the main difference between the two sets of code is the source of the video file.
First code example calls the video from an absolute source:
<param name="filename" value="http://kreativefuzion.com/valentcentral/forumvideos/almost_.wmv">
Second code example call video from a location relative to the HTML page:
<PARAM NAME="FileName" VALUE="almost_.wmv">
This will only work on your local machine if you have already downloaded the file and placed it in the same folder as the HTML page.
The reason it has less jumpiness is because the video is being feed to the page directly from your hard drive at a much faster connection than would be used over an Internet connection. In other words it can rebuild the box in a new location much faster than if it was waiting for the video signal over a slower Internet connection.
The second code set would also work if the page and video are deployed from a server, provided they are in the same directory, but the slow “rebuild” time of the video player box would not be improved. The real answer is to do what you’ve done, resize the video for the application. 320 X 240 is a great improvement. The bitrate of 198kbps is probably sufficient because the video is actually being downsized by the player to 179 X 135. To display a 320 X 240 video at that size, the bitrate is actually a little low, 300 – 400kbps would give a pretty good resolution.
Remember to set the correct path for the HTML page on the server or this second code set will not find the video file on IE.
Thanks for your help on this one,
Eye for Video
www.cidigitalmedia.com
Well I guess its in zxfactor's court to try it out.
Eye for Video are you good with flash8? Im sure I will run into some issues media embed in the future.
LL
Eye for Video
06-17-2008, 12:16 PM
Well as a matter of fact, I love working with Flash. I've switched all my videos over to Flash .flv files now, except for Live Web broadcasts, I still use .wmv.
Here is a custom player I created and also embedded it using the SWFObject. This is a small bit of JavaScript which allows you to write alternate content for those without the Flash player. That alternate content is also accessible to robots and spiders for indexing purpose, often seen as a drawback against using Flash.
Check this out:
http://www.cidigitalmedia.com/video.html
Then take a look at the source code, scroll down to the:
<!-- Alternate content -->
This doesn't show directly on the page if you have Flash but it is all the descriptive info about the videos, just what the search engines are looking for.
If you go Flash, check out the SWFObject at:
http://www.adobe.com/devnet/flash/articles/swfobject.html
Best wishes,
Eye for Video
www.cidigitalmedia.com
zxfactor
06-18-2008, 11:08 PM
Everyone.. thanks for your help.. increasing the size helped somewhat, but it's still a problem. Does anyone have code for a flash player?
Thanks
Eye for Video
06-19-2008, 12:03 AM
Perhaps your best solution would be to leave the display size alone and decrease the size and bitrate of the video. The problem is your computer has to rebuild the video box every few milliseconds as you scroll. Give it less to do, keep the video (display) size small, bitrate low. The rebuilding of the video display box is also affected by the speed of your computer, assuming your Internet download speed is about twice the required bitrate of the movie. So for example a video displaying at 800kbps should have at least a 1.5MB connection, while a video displaying at 150kbps could get by with a 256 DSL line. Even then, scrolling can be a problem.
The rest is up to your machine. Test it on a couple of faster machines for comparison.
Here is code for a Flash player but you still need to acquire the .swf file and recode the correct path to it. This .swf file is actually the player:
<object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="http://fpdownload.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=8,0,0,0" width="530" height="280" id="cidm_player_320" align="middle">
<param name="allowScriptAccess" value="sameDomain" />
<param name="movie" value="cidm_player_320.swf" />
<param name="quality" value="high" />
<param name="wmode" value="transparent">
<embed src="cidm_player_320.swf" quality="high" width="530" height="280" name="cidm_player_320" align="middle" wmode="transparent" allowScriptAccess="sameDomain" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" />
</object>
There are also other ways to code this including using SWFObject, which I strongly recommend, but start with the simple code first.
Best of Luck,
Eye for Video
www.cidigitalmedia.com
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